Lisa Huisman Koops & Christa Kuebel (Case Western Re- serve), Developing a Measure of Musical Enjoyment for Preschoolers in Class Settings
The purpose of this observational study was to develop a measure of musical enjoyment of preschool children during music activities in the general classroom through close anal- ysis of video footage. The specific research question was: how do preschool students show enjoyment during musical activities through participation (time on task), affective signs of enjoyment, and continuation responses?
There are currently no validated measures of children’s musical enjoyment for preschool children. We coordinated with two classroom preschool teachers to videotape “group time” for 10 to 15 minutes on four consecutive school days, which resulted in approximately 100 minutes of video foot- age. We placed the cameras in the room two days prior to the start of taping so children would become accustomed to the equipment. The group time involved a mix of musical and non-musical activities. We (two researchers also actively involved in early childhood music education) employed re- peated, close video viewing for analysis, coding children’s responses according to the three parts of our research ques- tion (time on task, affective responses, and continuation responses). In this poster, we will share the results of our analysis, along with a preliminary Measure of Musical En- joyment developed based on these results; we aim to test the measure for validity and reliability in future studies.
Chris Bulgren (University of Michigan), Perceptions of Songwriting Pedagogy and Popular Music among High School Guitar Students
The purpose of this study was to explore participants’ per- ceptions of songwriting in a high school guitar class. Par- ticipants included students in grades 9-12 and their instruc- tor in a large Midwestern high school. This study employed descriptive case study methodology as a means to deepen understanding of songwriting and popular music in a high school guitar class. Research questions included the follow- ing: (1) How do participants in a high school guitar class perceive and describe songwriting in a guitar class? (2) How do participants describe the use of popular music used to teach songwriting? The researcher took part in the class as a participant observer. Other data collection included semi- structured interviews with the teacher and a focus group with the students. The students also contributed a written reflection concerning their experience with songwriting and popular music. The researcher collected artifacts such as songs written by the class. The researcher also triangu- lated data in order to determine themes related to participant perceptions. Teacher and students reported they would like more use of the music that students are currently listening to
in their daily lives. However, the students reported that the music used by the teacher gave them new ideas and insights into the songwriting process.
Sarah L. Bowman (University of Miami), ‘I Don’t Sing’: Exploring Perceptions of Selected High School Students
Many people in our society seem to identify with the phrase, ‘I don’t sing.’ Students who are not active in music classes might identify with similar beliefs. The purpose of this qual- itative study was to explore perceptions of singing among selected high school students identified as ‘non-singers.’ Two questions guided this research. 1. How do students de- scribe their experiences with and perceptions of singing? 2. What do students describe as influences on their perceptions of singing? Purposeful sampling was used to select six stu- dents for one 60-minute individual interview. These inter- views were conducted at two similar high schools in Michi- gan. Data was transcribed, reduced, and coded for themes. Profiles were created to describe each student’s story. The following four themes emerged as findings. 1. Students de- scribed negative and positive experiences with singing. 2. Students described negative and positive perceptions of singing. 3. Students described their musical interests, family background, previous singing experiences, and their overall opinion of singing as influences on their perceptions of sing- ing. 4. Students described other elements of their identities as influences on their perceptions of singing. Implications suggest that music teachers should a) silence inappropriate criticism and remind music students of the influential roles they often have on peers and family, and b) create organic opportunities for non-choir students to engage in singing by seeking out students who love to sing but are not in choir and offer support of their musical interests.
Aaron Daniel Kleine (Central Michigan University), Mentoring Composers
The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize research about the role of the composition mentor to provide implica- tions for music teachers and music teacher-educators. Philo- sophic issues are addressed first including: universal capacity for composition, composition as a teachable craft, the value of composition in music education, the lack of composition in music education, and revising music teacher education to prepare pre-service teachers to mentor composition.
Following the foundational issues, roles of the composition mentor, which appeared often in the literature, are discussed. These include the empowerment of students, creating an en- vironment conducive to composition, modeling composi- tional thinking and the composition process, and preparing compositional prompts and situations. A discussion of com- position textbooks and analysis follows, concluding that all
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